Determining a Property's Official Worth
A taxatierapport, or valuation report, is a formal document that provides a professional and objective assessment of a property's value. This valuation is carried out by a registered and certified appraiser (taxateur), who inspects the property, researches local market data, checks land registry records, and considers the property's condition, size, and location to arrive at an official market value. While a taxatierapport is an absolute necessity when buying a property (as banks require it for a mortgage application), its role in the rental market is more indirect, but still significant. Tenants will rarely commission a valuation report themselves, but its findings can have a direct impact on their tenancy, particularly concerning the maximum legal rent.
The most important figure in the report for renters is the WOZ-waarde, or the value of the property as determined by the municipality for taxation purposes. This WOZ-waarde is a key component in the woningwaarderingsstelsel (WWS), the points system that calculates the maximum legal rent for properties in the regulated sector. A portion of the property's value translates directly into points; a higher valuation means more points, which in turn can push the maximum legal rent upwards. A landlord who believes their property is undervalued by the municipality may commission a full taxatierapport as evidence to appeal their WOZ-waarde, in the hope that a higher valuation will allow them to legally charge more rent.
A Tool for Landlords, a Data Point for Tenants
For the landlord, the taxatierapport is a crucial tool for financial management. It's needed for financing, for insurance purposes, and as we've seen, for optimizing rental income under the WWS. For the tenant, the report is more of an interesting, but often hidden, data point. While you will not see the full report, the WOZ-waarde of any property is public information and can be checked online through the WOZ-waardeloket. A skeptical tenant who is about to rent a property near the regulated/free sector threshold should absolutely check this value. They can then use an online Huurprijscheck tool to input the WOZ-waarde along with the property's other characteristics (like square meterage) to get an independent estimate of the maximum legal rent.
This can be a powerful negotiating tool and a vital reality check. If the landlord's asking rent is significantly higher than the calculated maximum, it might mean the property is unlawfully being offered in the free sector. This knowledge gives the tenant the option to sign the contract and immediately start a procedure with the Huurcommissie to have the rent lowered. The taxatierapport and the WOZ-waarde it validates are therefore not just numbers on a page; they are a key part of the legal architecture that, in theory, prevents landlords from charging excessive rents in the regulated sector.
